Kim Possible: The Definition of a Hero
by JRMWarfare
Summary: Another Mission, another long Flight. What people from different walks of life think is heroic and just part of the doing their "Job". A little Fiction, a little Truth.


_The Definition of a Hero_

Kim Possible is owned by Disney; the USAF is owned by the American People.

Time seemed to stretch infinitely long when cruising at 25,000 feet in the back of a noisy and uncomfortable military cargo plane. Quite dissimilar to their civilian counterparts, military aircraft did not splurge on extras to make the passengers cozy. There was no real sound-proofing so the noise level from the turboprops forced the passengers to wear ear-defenders or earplugs. There was no stewardess to provide drinks or food (not that food service is all that common on most commercial flights these days but that is a different story), so the passengers brought their own snackages and beverages. Lastly, the seats were very rigid – nothing more than stretched canvass between aluminum poles and canvass webbing for a backrest. The metal floor was probably not much worse.

These small nuisances seemed more important than the greater issues of danger that plagues a military aircraft more than a civilian aircraft. Apart from the irregular cargo of weapons and explosives, the very real possibility of being shot at or killed seemed ignored by most of the passengers. A person can not dwell on such unspeakable facts less he or she become overwhelmed by the hopelessness of it all – only the flight crew had any real control over their destiny and even that did not amount to much when the missiles started flying (especially in a lumbering trash-hauler).

Despite the real possibility of an aerial death, most of the passengers seemed quite relaxed – well as much as one can relax on hard canvass seats. Looking at the half-sleeping forms sitting on the jump seats, you would never know that they were mostly veteran airman; Air Force members experienced in facing all sorts of hardships and long separations. While the Army and the Marines might scoff at the so-called 'hardships' that the airman might face and the Navy might laugh at the so-called 'long separations', it would be unfair to say that the Airman did not do their part. The members of the youngest military service did their deployments to less than enjoyable world hotspots, spent long months away from their families and friends, and generally faced the same dangers as the older services. When fighting for the few dollars Congress allots the services for system upgrades and improvements it is easy to put down a fellow service, but when the bullets are truly flying it is a joint service world – and since 9/11, a joint service, joint department (i.e. Police, Fire Department, so forth) kind of world. This particular flight to the desert personified this post-9/11 joint venture world. This particular Air Force transport aircraft carried more than just 6 crewmembers and 50 plus aircraft maintainers bound for some desert airbase and yet another thankless duty that meant so much to so many, it also carried two young teen heroes off to save the world once again. Yet to the two teens, it was the Air Force passengers who were the real heroes . . . and as such lies a quandary to what is the definition of a hero?

_**HIS VIEW**_

He looked over at the two young people standing near the jump door and wondered who they were. They must be special since they were not dressed like the crew, nor did they come in the group he was apart of. Until he saw the two decked out in jump gear, this was out of the ordinary for what was just an ordinary routine flight – routine to someone use to making long boring flights to the desert from his home base in England. This was so not a business flight, however. Beyond not earning any frequent flyer miles, he also wasn't going to get an in-flight meal from a pretty flight attendant or a comfortable seat to lounge around in for the duration of the flight.

Apart from his own discomfort, he could not but wonder about the two young people standing at the door. Who were they and where were they going? He could tell by their height and overall build they were both young – teenagers? That had to be doubtful since they _were_ on a military flight wearing parachutes (main and backup), goggles, helmets, and some kind of uniform – more like special matching outfits – or gear of some kind for some unique mission, but he could not tell. One looked to be male and the other female; the latter left little doubt as to her gender since she was wearing some kind of black midriff shirt whereas the former wore a full black shirt. Grant you, they were both old enough to make the distinction of gender a bit easier, which also seemed to make him blush slightly in his realization that he was 'checking' the younger girl out. She wasn't hard to miss though – a hint of red hair sneaking out of her helmet, a sense of total control, and well . . . a nice outward appearance. All of which seemed to greatly contrast from her male companion. The male jumper seemed to be fidgeting, almost like he was afraid of something – probably the pending parachute drop if the jump gear was any indication. The male didn't show any of the courage or control that his female companion seemed to have. What was more was that the overall appearance of the male kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger – if the potential jumpers were teenagers, then when he was their age. The male jumper looked even dorkier than he was when he was the young man's age (at least that is what he believed). However, he didn't ever have a shapely pretty girl resting her arm on his shoulder trying to comfort him before a jump either so he probably was not the best judge of character. By the way the female jumper was patting her male companion on the shoulders and the closeness thus maintained, it wasn't hard for him to figure out they were an item – lucky guy. But then luck was relative – he might not have a pretty red-headed girl caressing his shoulder but he wasn't wearing jump gear either so he guessed he was equally as lucky. However, the very fact they were both wearing jump gear (regardless of the possible age), made him wonder who they were.

They must have been important since both the aircraft commander and his own troop commander were treating them like VIPs, if not outright royalty. Being stationed in the United Kingdom, he often saw the lavishness heaped on the British Monarchy by both the British people and the British Parliament. While the idea of birth royalty might be a foreign and historically detested concept to an American, its status wasn't too unlike what his own people heaped on the celebrity du jour. The British had Prince Williams; the Americans had the latest American Idol winner – same thing. These two young potential jumpers were treated as equal to any celebrity or royalty by his commander; and that was odd enough. Even more interesting was the fact that they carried no weapons or nonjump-related equipment other than a small communication device and what looked like a hair-dryer?? What an odd situation for sure; but one thing was sure with the gear they had on, they were not going to be landing with the rest of his fellow Air Force types – a silk let down all the way!

Once his sleepy brain registered that little fact, he realized how very brave they must be. He thought he would never be so stupid to jump out of a perfectly good airplane (though after working on these trash-haulers for a few years, 'good' might not be an accurate description of their air-worthiness). Still, they were probably going to jump from this particular plane, and since they were getting closer to Turkey and the Middle East, they were not going somewhere nice. That took guts, plain and simple. The Army and the Marines send in hundreds of fully armed and trained troops, yet here was two unarmed teenagers jumping into such a dangerous place without so much a care in the world. He was nervous and he was going to a fully established base with gate guards and tedious security procedures designed to confuse and confound the most knowledgeable ally (and hopefully the enemy as well!). He wished he had their courage and determination. Since that wasn't the case, he would have to rely on duty and commitment to his fellow companions – that wasn't too bad in its own way. Maybe that was what true courage was – the willingness to do what has to be done even when every thing and every one tells you not to; to press forward when all you want to do is run away. Both teens must be heroes because they were willing to do what was asked of them, and not shy away – regardless of the reasons, regardless the fears, and regardless what might happen. They must have been especially brave since they were doing this when all their peers were more worried about their next high school dance or who to date. The teens were here now, and that boosted his morale more than all the great political and military speeches he had ever heard. If two teens can skip a dance, even their own chance at a normal life to save the world, then he could suck up another 4 month rotation away from his family – what is 4 months compared to a lifetime of things that they will never experience. He missed his prom because he was working an after-school job (and probably lacked the courage to ask someone out anyway), they would probably miss their prom because they were trying to save some hostage or stop whatever bad thing was happening in this pleasant part of the world. That seemed to make his worries somewhat less important. He wished them luck, and hoped they would not only survive their next adventure but maybe have some chance at enjoying their youth – and each other.

_**HER VIEW **_

She looked at the sleeping forms and that filled the first half of the cargo bay and wondered what kind of people would voluntarily leave their families for months at a time to serve in some distant hostile country. She didn't hear them complain when they were boarding the plane in England, though there were some seriously teary moments among the family members. Strange as it sounded to her, she felt she knew exactly how they felt since she felt the same way every time she was away from Ron, even for short periods of time. It was a strange feeling if she thought about it in the context of their short time as a couple, yet it shouldn't have been so surprising since she seemed to always miss Ron when they were apart regardless of their status – as friends or as a couple. She guessed that was definitely one clear indication that there were deep seated feelings there, between them, for longer than either of them would admit to themselves let alone each other. While she thought she could finally truly feel fortunate that she had found someone special who was there with her even during the toughest sitch, these dedicated airman were not as lucky. They had to serve their country, usually far from their loved-ones, yet they never seemed to complain. They willingly put themselves in harms way, always so far from home, but never voiced grief or despair. Even more amazing to her was that as Air Force members, they had to take even more grief for doing their job than the other services since they were not physically serving on the frontlines – if there is such a thing as the 'frontlines' these harrowing days. The Army and the Marines, the true American grunts, often forgot that the Air Force faced many of the same dangers and perils as the harden vets of war did, but with far less training and weaponry. In fact, as she looked around, except for the flight crew, no one was carrying a weapon that she could see. She knew that some of the lifesupport specialist carried sidearms for the pilots and some of the Security Forces specialist carried their weapons, but this transport of maintainers carried nothing but tool boxes and prayers for safe travel and a safe tour to the desert. Maybe she often overlooked the dangers of going on missions armed with nothing more than a grapple hook and some cool Wade-supplied gadgets, but she figured her and Ron could handle anything _together_. The key being both her and Ron together and not just, "_Anything is possible for a Possible_." That thought did take 12 years to break through her stubborn-prone Kiminess nature, but she definitely understood that it was only together (her and Ron) was she able to do anything. She guessed it was no different for the rest of the personnel on this plane – they had each other to rely on to get the job done; a true team effort with everyone pulling their load and making the sacrifices necessary. Some heroes sacrificed their lives for others (the ultimate sacrifice), some (like those on this plane) sacrificed their normal daily life so others did not have too. It was a very thin line between the daily sacrifice and the ultimate sacrifice. She knew that most of the people on this plane were no different than Ron (or her for that matter if she actually thought about it) – probably scared of dying but willing to make that sacrifice to save others. What made Ron special to her was that, like the young airmen on this plane, he would even sacrifice his life for a complete stranger. That was truly the testament of a bona fide, genuine, real-life hero.

As she continued to look among the mostly sleeping forms she noticed that one of the younger guys (an Airman First Class if she remembered the Air Force rank structure correctly) was intently staring at not just her, but Ron as well. While this made her feel somewhat uncomfortable since she wanted to keep a low profile on this sitch, her discomfort was amp'ed up several notches when she quickly realized that several other people were also staring at them – must have been the jump gear her and Ron were wearing. Even on a plane full of military-types, two young people decked out in jump gear still must have stood out. The Airman First Class couldn't be more than a couple years older than Ron, yet seemed much older sitting among hundred-odd equally attired airman – both enlisted and officers. The cramped quarters did not leave much room for really relaxing (marinating in Ronism). The Airman had his feet propped up against the facing row of jump seats to keep them from cramping up. While providing him some room to stretch it did have the adverse side effect of providing a place for a very much higher ranking officer to prop his arm and body against in an attempt to get comfortable on the rock-hard seats. The sight would be almost comical, even borderline 'wrongsick' yet it didn't seem to bother the others on the plane (probably since it was repeated by others throughout the plane), plus it was really the only practical way to stretch out. She and Ron had their own jump seat in the back of the plane, but even it was hemmed in by pallets of personal baggage. Since they were now nearing their jump point, she convinced Ron that they needed to get up and stand by the door. Since Ron couldn't cuddle, it didn't take much to get him to move. While surprising, she was further pleased that Ron's little buddy – the Nacho-eating naked indispensible pint-sized member of Team Possible (Rufus) – had not once left Ron's cargo pocket. Probably taking a nap since he consumed a big lunch of bangers and mash in England before they left; that and Ron didn't want to startle the crew or passengers and thus convinced Rufus to stay incognito until they hit the ground. A semi-talking pink rodent would probably not go over well with some of the more serious-looking military types. Though the young Airman First Class would probably think it was cool – in a weird I-have-never-seen-that kind of way.

Thinking more about the other passengers on this plane, especially the Airman First Class, she decided that she would generally say what she did was 'no big,' the fulltime efforts of these airman was nothing short of astonishing. They did what they did often far from home with little or no pay; and unlike the other services, often unarmed – if one didn't count the wrenches and flashlights that were as common with these people as guns and grenades were with the Army and the Marines. She was confident she could handle any sitch without such lethal force, but she also knew her limits – despite her motto. She was smart enough to know when to call in back-up, and that included law enforcement or even military support if that was necessary. Some problems didn't require that, even when facing hordes of henchmen or synthodrones. Though she would be the first to admit that at other times it didn't hurt to call the Marines – or the Air Force in this case. While she and Ron were only bumming rides from the zoomies, it was still nice to know that they were there to help out. It was somewhat comforting to know that once she hit the ground her nation's military was still above her providing at least some support – be it satellite-garnered intelligence fed to her via Wade or something more substantial (like an aircraft-dropped bomb-type diversion), it was all very reassuring.

_**THE ACTION **_

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by the loadmaster who informed her that the aircraft was near her destination. Kim tapped Ron on the shoulder to let him know it was time for him to get his head in the game. His reassuring grin was even more calming than the thoughts of airpower or military strength. She was ready for what lay ahead – assured that her best friend, partner, and boyfriend (she could never get tired of thinking how good that sounded to her) was by her side ready to watch her back and support her in every way.

As the loadmaster, acting as the jumpmaster as well, opened the rear cargo door, both Kim and Ron shuffled to the door – something they had done many times (no big for them, but would have been quite surprising to most of the passengers who just saw them as a couple of oddly dressed teenagers). Kim checked her gear, and then double-checked Ron's gear – and probably would have a couple more times knowing his inattention in all things except things concerning her, but the red light turned a nice green (like her eyes Ron was probably thinking). Without another thought, she grabbed Ron and out the door they went.

_**AFTER THE ACTION **_

As the loadmaster closed the door behind the rapidly receding teen jumpers, the very curious passengers looked at each other with a mixture of awe and interest. While everyone expected the two teens were preparing to jump, since they were wearing parachutes, the actual act was still somewhat of a surprise to the passengers. This was supposed to be a regular rotator flight for the assembled air travelers; a long journey from their base in England to their deployed location in Turkey. I guess someone above their collected pay grade decided to add an unscheduled air drop in the mix. The interruption, while brief, did give everyone something to think about; something to spice up what would normally be a long and tiring flight. However, since the noise of the droning turboprops drowns out any conversation held below the screaming level of talk, all the onlookers could do was point at the jump door and think about what had just happened. Without the ability to talk about what had just transpired, the passengers slowly returned to what they were doing before – napping, reading, or just thinking about nothing in particular. One particular Airman, who Kim had noticed before, couldn't go back to sleep nor could he pick up a book. He was too enthralled with what he had just witnessed. His mind replayed the recent events over and over trying to figure out what just happened. In the end, he decided that he might never know what just took place and laid back against the webbing of his jump seat. With his eyes closed he thought of the pretty red-headed teen girl and her big-eared partner, silently hoping and praying that they would be ok; though somehow knowing that they would probably be alright – a feeling more than anything, but the confidence and the mutual respect they showed each other seemed to give him comfort that all would be alright.

Regardless what some person's definition of a hero might be, in the end the Airman knew it was the willingness to do what was right no matter the difficultly or hardships they all would face marked both the teen jumpers and his own comrades as true heroes. It didn't matter if you jumped out of an airplane or rode on it to your deployment, it was the convictions and the willingness to do what was morally right that made all the difference. There might be degrees of heroism – rushing into a burning building to save a person as opposed to giving someone their wallet back after they dropped it – it still took some kind of moral courage to do the right thing. Maybe more people could learn from the teen heroes, or at least from his comrades – life would be a whole lot better if everyone practiced some level of moral courage and honesty. It might put them all out of business, but that would be a small price to pay; and for the teens they would probably enjoy more time together . . . now if, the Airman thought, he could find a pretty red-head to enjoy extra time with life would truly be grand.


End file.
